Answers
in Science (AiS)
is an educational organization founded and maintained by several
faculty members in the science departments at Tufts University.
Its goal is to provide simple, reliable, active, and accurate resources, via the AiS website and in publications, dealing with the
science
supporting the fact of biological
evolution.
AiS is committed to providing scientific information that, even
though composed of diverse opinions within its specialized disciplines,
represents the consensus of the majority of the world's scientific
community on the broader and established areas of scientific knowledge.

The
establishment of AiS was prompted by attempts
of several organizations, through political and religious channels,
to influence the teaching, public perception, and support of science.
Most of these highly vocal groups
are fundamentalist with the clearly
stated goal of inserting a literalist scriptural interpretation
of creation into science education or changing the definition of
science. These groups, identified in
general as "creationists", deny biological
evolution and the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting
it. Their beliefs are also in conflict with every major
branch of science, physics, geology, astronomy, and chemistry, and with
many mainline Christians. They espouse such demonstratably false concepts as:

-
The Earth and universe are only about 6,000
years old

-
All life was created in six
days

-
The speed of light has slowed down a million
fold since creation (6000years ago)

-
Radioactive decay rates have slowed a million
fold

-
Radiometric dating methods are in error by billions
of years

-
The geological record & stratification was caused by a
world-wide flood 4000 years
ago

-
The fossil record was accumulated during this one
year world-wide flood

-
Humans and dinosaurs lived together

-
The continuous interference of an "intelligent
designer" in evolution
that it is evident in the complexity of biological &
biochemical systems

This
small but vociferous group of fundamentalists and "creation scientists"
believe that if the Bible and Science are in conflict then Science
must be wrong. Most of these groups are religious-based and hold to a literal interpretation of scripture including
Genesis, and thus a young age for the Earth and a worldwide flood
4000 years ago. A few accept an older age for the Earth,
but believe that life was specially created and/or is continually
being modifiedby
a supernatural being.
(for a brief guide to creationist groups see: "The
New Creationists" )

Creation "science" is not science since it
relies on supernatural intervention to
force-fit
science to a specific religious belief system. Using scientific
sounding language and fancy websites, they have produced a large body of so called
(and misnomered) “evidences” which they claim refute the basic
tenets of evolutionary biology, geology, paleontology, genetics,
biochemistry, astronomy, chemistry, and physics (ie, most of modern
science!). In many cases their fraudulent or misleading statements
have been widely disseminated and have become almost impossible
to refute without spending an exorbitant amount of time and energy
(here is
just one example).

During
a recent effort by the Ohio Board of Education to strengthen its
science standards, the Discovery Institute released a "bibliography"
that it claimed showed dissenting viewpoints that challenge one
or another aspect of neo-Darwinism. On closer examination it turned
out that this was nothing but a deceptive effort, what would be
called "quote mining". (Link
here for the full account.).
The small group of scientists who support them represent a minor
fringe element of the scientific community. Many mainline
Christians, including those within the scientific community,
have no problem accepting evolution.

By selecting
scientific hypotheses already disproved and known to be faulty,
previously rejected data, misinterpretation, or in many instances
outright
fraud
or
deception,
fundamentalist's “evidences” are presented as “proof” that current scientific
knowledge about almost everything is wrong. That, in effect,
millions of scientists over hundreds of years from a multitude
of countries and religions have conspired to fabricated scientific
knowledge. That million of hours of research and peer-reviewed
publications don't exist or are fraudulent. That millions of scientists
are idiots and have no idea what they are doing.

Even
though their misnomered “evidences” are easily refuted by anyone
knowledgeable in the specific disciplines (and in many cases by
anyone with even a little rudimentary scientific training), they
continue to attack evolution in hopes that the public will eventually
accept them on equal footing with scientific theories (see "Why
Attack Darwinism?"). More ominously, by aggressive legal
and political maneuvering, and often outright deception, attempts
are being made to introduced religious beliefs into science education
under the deceptive guises of “creation science” or “intelligent
(divine) design”, neither of which are science science but clearly are
religion (see "What
is Science?"). By making it appear that the only choice
is between this interpretation of scriptures and materialistic
non-theistic science, they have endeavored to force a wedge
between accepted science and the public.

The
goal of AiS is provide easily accessible resources to help scientists,
educators, and the concerned public, combat these growing creationist
attempts to distort and corrupt science education.
To this end, this site attempts to maintain the most reliable
links to organizations, web-based scientific databases, and a
number of point-by-point rebuttals to the claims made by creationists.
We have also compiled an on-going list of
recommended
books.